


Namaste

by dazubi



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Yoga, M/M, for now, just like casually drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:28:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28416138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dazubi/pseuds/dazubi
Summary: Alluka has been begging Killua to join her yoga class for months. Killua is skeptical, but begrudgingly agrees to come with. Her yoga teacher is nothing like he expected.
Relationships: Alluka Zoldyck & Killua Zoldyck, Gon Freecs & Alluka Zoldyck, Gon Freecs & Alluka Zoldyck & Killua Zoldyck, Gon Freecs & Killua Zoldyck, Gon Freecs & Kurapika & Leorio Paladiknight & Killua Zoldyck, Gon Freecs/Killua Zoldyck, Kurapika & Leorio Paladiknight, Kurapika/Leorio Paladiknight
Comments: 46
Kudos: 124





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I randomly had this idea today when I guiltily looked over at my yoga mat, which has been unused for over a week. So, instead of reducing my guilt by actually doing yoga, I decided to write the most random AU I’ve ever thought of on my own (I'm not actually a creative person, especially when it comes to AUs). Just something short to satisfy the itch I’ve had to write recently. Might write more to this, might not. I kinda liked it and had a couple more ideas on directions to take it, but I’m not sure yet.
> 
> I’ve never been to an in-person yoga class, so I have no clue what the protocol is. If something doesn’t make a lick of sense/isn’t realistic, then sorry! Hopefully it doesn’t take away from the actual story.
> 
> Another disclaimer, but I tend to write dialogue with their Japanese voices in mind in order to stay as in character as I can. So if phrases I use seem a little strange, that's almost definitely why (or just cuz I didn't proofread enough lol). That applies to everything I write, so just a heads up in general I guess.
> 
> Anyways, enough of that crap. Enjoy!

“Alluka…do I really have to?”

“If you love me. Yes.”

Killua groans loudly, setting his Switch on his lap. “That’s not fair, and you know it.”

His sister giggles, her smile easily reaching her eyes. It’s a struggle for Killua to keep the determined frown set on his lips when she smiles like that.

She is standing in front of Killua with her hands on her hips expectantly, while he slumps into the couch. Their apartment is small, but comfortable and homey. Much homier than their _actual_ home, but he doesn’t like to think about that place. “You don’t really _have_ to, I guess. But it’d be fun if you did!” Alluka chirps.

“But isn’t yoga…like…for girls?” Killua asks before lifting his Switch back up and trying to feign being otherwise occupied. Alluka has been bugging him about joining her yoga class for months now. She firmly believes that it would help that so-called _prickly_ nature of his. He doesn’t really care whether yoga is “for” men or women; he just doesn’t have much interest in going, to be honest.

“No, not at all. It’s good for your mind, body, and soul.” _Blah, blah, blah,_ he can’t help but think. “It’s a lot of fun! Plus, the instructor is a boy. So you wouldn’t be the only guy there.”

Killua’s eyes narrow and he glances at her above his game. “Your yoga teacher—he’s a guy?”

“Yeah. He’s very nice.”

 _Aah,_ he thinks. _That’s why she’s been enjoying the yoga class so much._

He can’t help the scoff that escapes. “I’m sure he _is_ nice to you.”

Alluka crosses her arms over chest. “And what’s that supposed to mean, onii-chan?"

He doesn’t even try to hide the crooked smirk that stretches across his lips. “Ohh, nothing. But if you wanted me to meet the guy you’ve been crushing on, you could’ve just said _that_.”

He senses her eye roll more than he sees it. She plops next to him on the couch with a quiet laugh.

“I don’t have a crush on him,” she intones slowly. “But if I did, would that convince you to go with me?”

Killua puts a hand on his chin in fake-thought. “Mmm…no, not really.”

Her face falls exasperatedly. “You’re mean, onii-chan.” She sticks her tongue out at him mockingly.

* * *

  
In the end, Killua agrees to go with her, of course. He can’t really say no to her.

“Just for one class though!” he had sworn.

“Yes, yes, okay, onii-chan,” she had answered with a wave of her hand.

They had made a special trip to the store to pick up a pair of “acceptable” pants for Killua to wear to the yoga class—basketball shorts didn’t make the cut, understandably—and his very own yoga mat. Alluka picked out the mat: light blue to match his eyes, she had decided.

And so, the day finally arrives that Killua and Alluka make the walk together to her yoga studio, a few blocks over from their apartment. The entire walk over, Alluka animatedly tells her brother which poses she’s been especially working on and trying to improve this month. The brilliant glint in her eyes when she talks is enough to make the trip worth it already.

They enter the yoga studio and Alluka signs them in at the front desk, proudly announcing to the receptionist that Killua is her older brother. She gives them a sweet smile and tells them they can go back. The entire place smells like smoke—incense probably—with New Age music sounding softly through the speakers.

Alluka leads Killua to the room where he assumes the class will actually be held. A few people are already there, sprawled out on their yoga mats that are laid out on the floor. The lights are bright, but warm. One wall is covered in mirrors, and Killua already dreads the thought of accidentally catching a glimpse of himself looking like a fool, falling on his face while trying to do yoga. He's confident in his own abilities, but you never know.

Alluka sets her mat up towards the front of the room and Killua follows, setting his up next to her. He checks his phone for the time and sees that they still have a few more minutes till class is supposed to officially start.

“Are you supposed to warm up or anything?” Killua asks her as he plops down onto his mat.

“No, usually the class eases you into it so everyone can gradually warm up together. I mean, you can do some stretches or something if you want.”

Killua nods. He begins looking around the room. Some of the other people chat quietly amongst themselves. Killua is surprised to see a pretty even distribution of men and women. Damn those stereotypes, anyways. “Do you know anyone else here?”

Alluka looks around too. “Um, not today, it looks like. Except for the teacher, of course.”

Oh, that’s right. He had almost forgotten about the teacher. He doesn’t really think she has a crush on him, but if Alluka says he’s nice then he probably is.

Killua’s more worried about exactly _how_ nice this guy is being to his little sister, which is part of the reason he decided to come. Alluka may be eighteen now, but Killua doubts that the protective—or perhaps, over-protective—instinct he has for her will ever go away.

He can just imagine this guy cozying up to his little sister, using the relaxing mood here to his advantage. The guy could so easily ask her to stay a few minutes after class for whatever reason. He probably turns the lights down low, lights some fresh incense for her, and turns that New Age music up a little bit to set the mood. Probably acts all calm and collected to impress her and get her to lower her guard so that he can put some moves on her. Little does she know that his actual intentions are a little more unseemly than she might think—and that he probably puts the same moves on every cute girl in his class.

Not on Killua’s watch. No sleazeball is allowed to fool his little sister like that.

His thoughts are suddenly interrupted by a loud thud outside the studio room. His eyes dart to Alluka, his body and senses alert, but she has a faint smile on her face.

The door to the studio slams open and Killua’s neck practically snaps as he turns his attention there.

“Goooooood morning, everybody!!!” a loud, almost childish voice sounds.

In the doorway is a young man—about Killua’s age—with black, spiky hair and tanned skin. He stands in the doorway like he owns it, taking up the entire space there with legs spread stoutly apart and his hands on his waist. A bright green, rolled-up yoga mat rests in between in the crook of one of his arms. Killua almost has to look away as the young man’s face sprawls into a wide, blindingly bright smile.

He hears Alluka chuckle quietly beside him. “Good morning, Gon,” she says along with a few of the other students sitting around them.

The young man—Gon—makes his way to the very front of the room and rolls his yoga mat out. _This_ is the yoga teacher?

Gon begins doing some light arm stretches. “Has everyone been good?” he asks, that same bright smile on his face.

He talks casually with some of the other students while everyone begins putting away their phones and bags to the side of the room in preparation for the class to start.

Someone asks Gon about his weekend, to which he unabashedly replies, “I went fishing Saturday, and caught a giant bass!” He puts his hands out in front of him, over a foot apart. “About that big!”

_What, he’s a redneck, too? A loud, redneck yoga teacher?!_

“Oi, Alluka,” Killua whispers. “Are you serious? _That’s_ your yoga teacher?” His face is screwed up in pure incredulity.

Alluka nods. “Yeah. Isn’t he nice?”

He lets out a sigh, his shoulders drooping. “He’s certainly different than I was expecting.”

“Eh? What were you expecting?” a voice other than Alluka’s calls out.

To Killua’s horror, he quickly realizes it was Gon, who is looking at him curiously.

Either this guy has super hearing or Killua wasn’t being as quiet as he thought. Not usually one to hold back his blunt opinion, though, he responds, “Oh, I don’t know. You normally think of yoga teachers as these slow-talking, hippie people. You’re kinda the opposite.”

“Opposite? How?” Gon cocks his head, that ever-curious gleam on his childlike eyes.

“I mean, you walk in slamming doors open, yelling good morning, and talking about a giant fish you caught.” He shrugs. “Just not what I was expecting. Not a bad thing, either,” he adds, surprised at the truth of the words. “I mean, fishing is pretty cool.”

“I see.” He brings his hand up to his chin and furrows his eyebrows, very clearly in deep thought. This guy wears his emotions right on his sleeve.

“Has no one ever told you that before?” Killua asks.

“Nope.” He looks Killua right in the eye before breaking into that beaming grin again. Killua swears he can see an entire silvery sun shining out from that smile. “So I appreciate you telling me. I never really thought about it.”

_What in the hell?_

“Alright, let’s get started, everybody!” Gon brings his hands together eagerly and begins the class.

Killua feels like he has whiplash—like he’s stuck in a washing machine and getting twisted and turned in all different directions. This guy is not at all like what he was expecting. Nothing like the smooth-talking, slightly sleazy guy from his imagination.

He is shocked to find that he is unable to keep his eyes off Gon, even if Gon weren’t the one leading the class. Even when he doesn’t need to look at Gon to understand what movement to make, his eyes drift up to the front of the class against his own conscious bidding.

He is even more shocked at how many times Gon’s eyes—like melted chocolate—meet his own. He wonders if Gon resents him for being so open about his impression of him, but doesn’t get that vibe from him. All Killua does know is that every time their eyes meet, he gets an odd pinch in the pit of his stomach and a soft flush on his face.

He can’t totally deny that the guy is attractive, but that’s beside the point. Killua doesn’t get flustered _that_ easily, does he?

The class goes by in a flash, and Killua is surprised to find that he thoroughly enjoyed it. His muscles feel stretched and as if they were reborn—fresh blood pumps through him energetically. Gon’s class had been anything but the relaxed—and therefore, in Killua’s mind, boring—ordeal he had expected.

Gon had cracked jokes the whole way through, with frequent exclaims at how great a certain stretch should feel or how much he likes a certain variation of a pose. He’d also added a few moves meant to get the blood pumping and muscles activated, which Killua had appreciated.

As they are rolling up their yoga mats and students begin to trickle out of the studio, Alluka asks, “So, what did you think?”

Even if it weren’t for the excited sparkle in her eyes, he wouldn’t lie. “I liked that, actually. A lot.”

Her smile makes his entire heart melt. “I’m so glad! Do you wanna come to the next class with me?”

“Um, I’m not sure about—”

“You should,” he hears from behind him.

It’s Gon. He turns to look at him.

“You should definitely come again. You were a natural,” Gon says. “Do you do sports or something?”

Killua shrugs. “I’m a jujutsu teacher.”

“No way!” Gon approaches him, eyes wide. “That’s awesome!”

“I mean, I just teach it to little kids, and then one intermediate class. But…thanks.” He scratches the back of his neck, thoroughly embarrassed.

“Well, maybe you can teach me sometime! I took aikido classes when I was a kid, but it’s probably completely different.”

“Oh, I started with aikido too. But there was a jujutsu studio near our place when we first moved out here, so I started going there instead.”

“Do the two of you live together?” Gon asks, looking between him and Alluka.

“Yeah, we have an apartment just up the road, actually,” Killua answers.

“Oh, really?” Gon nods. Killua wonders why the gleam in his eye fades just slightly.

“Gon, this is Killua,” Alluka hurriedly cuts in. “My older _brother_.”

“Oh, really?!” Gon repeats, his tone very different this time. Killua notices the gleam returns just as quickly as it left. “I didn’t know you had a brother, Alluka!”

“That’s ‘cause he only ever leaves the house to go buy chocolate or for jujutsu,” she teases. The three of them begin making their way out of the room and back out to the lobby of the studio.

Gon laughs is more of a cheerful chime. “Well, I’m glad you decided to come out today!”

“Me too,” Killua says truthfully.

“I liked your yoga mat, by the way.”

Killua looks down at the blue mat in his arms. “Oh, thanks. We just bought it yesterday. Alluka picked it out.”

“Eh, you’ve got good taste Alluka. It matches your eyes, Killua.” With all the eye contact they were making during the class, Killua isn’t surprised that he noticed that. That doesn’t stop the slight blush from pricking up on his cheeks, though. “It’s not nearly as pretty as your eyes, though.”

Killua’s blush is in full bloom as they all step outside onto the street. Still, he chuckles as he looks away. “You’re not shy at all, are you?”

Gon’s laugh rings out to join Killua’s. “No, I guess not.”

They turn to look at each other, as their goodbye is now imminent. Killua is surprisingly disappointed. Alluka is the closest thing to a friend he has; he can’t believe how easy it is to talk with this guy he just barely met.

“Will I see you next week, Killua?” Gon asks, suddenly very serious.

He can’t help it. Before he can stop himself to think, the words are already out.

“Yeah. I’ll be here.”

Gon’s answering grin is more than Killua can bear—it’s so dazzling, he has to look away. “Great. I already can’t wait for next week, then!”

Killua turns away to hide the return of his blush. He feigns nonchalance as much as he can, throwing up a hand to wave back at Gon while he walks away. “See you next week.”

“Bye, Gon! See you!” Alluka chimes, joining Killua.

“Bye Alluka! Bye Killua!”

It takes every ounce of Killua’s willpower to not look back behind him to get another glimpse of Gon. His whole body is stiff from the effort he’s putting in.

Finally, when they round a corner, Killua lets his shoulders relax and releases a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

“Onii-chan…” he hears from beside him. He looks over at Alluka, and immediately regrets it.

An intensely smug smile curves across her face, and he can tell she’s suppressing a laugh at his expense. She can see right through him, can’t she?

“I thought you _swore_ you’d only go to one class?” she says, every syllable dripping with an almost patronizing tone.

“Shut up,” he grits out, thrusting his hands in his pockets and looking away.

“I _told_ you he was nice.”

“ _Shut_. _Up_.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently I have the writing bug. Second piece written in less than 24 hours; that's definitely my new record.
> 
> This story was originally just supposed to be a one-shot, but I kept getting more and more ideas that I had to get down. So here it is. Probably more to come...I'm just having way too much fun writing this lol. 
> 
> Experimenting with different POVs and apparently with how silly I can make this. And I'm not sure if there will be an overarching plot to this, I'm kinda just making it up as I go along. At this point, I guess I’m just fucking around with this AU, but I’m having a lot of fun with it, so oh well!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

_He’s not here,_ Gon notices the second he enters the studio.

Alluka sits on her yoga mat in her usual spot, without her older brother. Her older brother, who Gon had thought about more than was normal in the past week. Something about Killua fascinated Gon, although he couldn’t quite put his finger on why. With him missing today, Gon almost wonders if he dreamt Killua up.

“Gooood morning!” he calls out from the doorway, trying to keep his mood as chipper as possible in spite of his disappointment, as he makes his way to the front of the room.

His students give their own good morning back to him. He unrolls his yoga mat and begins stretching out his arms.

He pushes all thoughts of Killua out of his head, hoping he’s alright and that something bad didn’t happen. He supposes Alluka probably wouldn’t be here like normal if something bad did happen, though.

“Alright, let’s get started!”

* * *

“Alluka, where’s your brother?”

_Dang. So close._

Alluka comes to a sudden stop—she had _almost_ made it out the doorway—and turns around to face Gon. She was practically running out of the studio after class ended, afraid of this very situation. She was hoping Gon either wouldn’t bring it up, had forgotten about Killua entirely, or wouldn’t care that much. But his face shows his very transparent worry, and Alluka can’t help but feel bad for him.

With a shaky smile that doesn’t reach her eyes, she says, “One of the other jujutsu instructors couldn’t make it to their class, so onii-chan is covering for him.”

“Oh, really? That’s too bad.” The corners of Gon’s mouth sink. “I had a special class prepared for him, but I saved it for next time.”

Not for the first time, Alluka wonders how close she could get to murdering her brother before he actually got mad.

“That _is_ too bad,” she murmurs as they walk out of the studio together.

Alluka doesn’t support lying. She thinks that no good can come of lying. But at the same time, she _does_ support her brother. Even when he’s being ridiculous and a little bit unbearable. So a half-lie every once in a while to help her brother out shouldn’t hurt too much, right?

Killua had woken up that morning, apparently forgetting that Alluka had her yoga class today. An hour before the class, Alluka told him he’d need to start getting ready soon. And that’s when all hell had broken loose.

“I thought that was tomorrow,” he deadpanned, going scarily still.

“No, onii-chan. It’s today. In an hour,” she had said patiently, moving to sit at the foot of his bed.

Slowly, Killua had gotten up and walked over to his closet. He creaked open the doors. He began filing through his clothes—which is not an easy task, Alluka knows. He has a _lot_ of clothes. He had begun throwing rejected clothes in a pile on the ground. As more time passed, the pile grew bigger and bigger and bigger.

That’s when it had dawned on her. She tried to hide the wince on her face as she braced herself.

“Alluka…I don’t have… _anything_ to wear.” His voice was low—deadly, almost. He stepped away from his closet and Alluka had glanced briefly at the now completely empty shelves. They had only bought Killua one yoga outfit the week prior, assuming he would only go to one class.

She’d known it was a lost cause, but she tried anyways. “Why don’t you just wear what you wore last week?”

“Again? Gon will think I only have one outfit.” He shook his head. “I was gonna go shopping for a new outfit today. Because I thought your class was tomorrow.”

Her brother had looked like a lost wandering soul trying to find its way to the afterlife as he’d sat down on his bed next to her.

“You have tons of clothes, onii-chan. There’s probably something that’ll do.”

“No. There’s nothing, we checked last week. I can’t go.” His voice was firm.

“Don’t be silly, onii-chan.” She tugged at his arm, hoping that she could somehow jostle some common sense into him. “It’ll be fine. Don’t just _not go_ because you don’t have an outfit.”

“I can’t, Alluka. Sorry.”

“Why not? What’s it matter?” She huffed at him, crossing her arms. She knew her tone was a little whiny, but she couldn’t help it. She had been really excited for him to come with her again.

“I just can’t, Alluka.”

She gave him a sly glance. “Is it ‘cause of Gon? Are you _nervous?_ ”

She hadn’t been totally surprised when he shoved her face into the bed, as gently as someone possibly _could_ shove a face into a bed. “Shut up, idiot! Of course not!”

After springing back up, she couldn’t help the smile that broke across her face. “Okay, sure, onii-chan. But I think Gon will be disappointed if you don’t show up to today’s class. He said he was looking forward to it.”

A flash of darkness fluttered across Killua’s face—worry? pity?—before he looked away. “No, he won’t care _that_ much. I’ll be there next week, for sure. I’ll go shopping during your class so I have no excuse next week.”

“And what if he asks me where you are, huh? What am I supposed to say? You’re out shopping for clothes?”

He’d shrugged. “Say I gotta cover another teacher at the studio, or something.”

“You want me to _lie?_ ” She’d made sure he saw the anger in her eyes.

“I don’t know, definitely don’t tell him the truth, though.”

In the end, she forced him to go into work anyways so she was only half-lying, and promised they’d go shopping later so he’d have another outfit for next week. Alluka feels bad about hiding the truth from Gon, but understands why she probably shouldn’t tell him.

“Onii-chan promised he’d be here next week, though,” Alluka says as her and Gon step out onto the sidewalk.

“Okay, good! I’m glad he’s okay,” Gon chirps. Then, more pensively, “I was hoping to see him today, though…”

Alluka can’t help herself. “Oh, really? Why’s that?” She hopes he can’t see her eyebrows raised expectantly and the corners of her mouth turn up.

“I’m not sure, really. He just seems like an interesting person.” He perks up suddenly, bringing his hands together. “Oh! I know! You guys should come out with me and my friends tonight!”

Alluka blinks. “What?”

“Me and a couple of my good friends are going out for dinner and drinks tonight. You guys should come too!” Gon nods like he’s just proposed the most amazing plan on earth.

Alluka would agree, though—it just might be the most amazing plan on earth. “That’s a great idea!” Her grin is wide, and mirrors Gon’s almost exactly. “That sounds fun! I know we’re not busy tonight, too.”

“Oh, good. Wow, I can’t wait! We’ll get to talk more than we would in class, anyways, so that works out better. I’ll see you guys tonight, then?”

She nods as enthusiastically as she can without breaking her neck. “Yeah!”

“Sounds good! See you later, then!”

They both turn around and begin walking in their respective directions home. “Excited” is an understatement—Alluka is nothing short of ecstatic, through the roof, high as a kite. She literally has a skip in her step; she can’t wait to tell Killua. He’ll probably act mad that she went and decided on her own, but she knows he’ll be happy deep down.

Killua is always doing things to make Alluka happy, like going to her yoga class just because she wanted him to. It feels good to be able to give him something in return.

Suddenly, she stops as she makes a somewhat disturbing realization. She spins around and runs back towards Gon.

“Gon, wait!” she calls to his retreating figure. He stops and turns back to face her.

“What’s up, Alluka?” His face is all worry.

“You didn’t tell me where to meet. Or when. Or anything, really.”

His worried face quickly switches to one of slight embarrassment. “Oops.”

“I don’t have your number either,” she points out. Before she can stop herself, she decides to cement her position as The Best Sister Ever. “I can give you onii-chan’s phone number so you can send him the details. I don’t check my phone very often, so I might miss it.” Again, she’s not a fan of lying, but she already lied once today, so what’s the harm?

Killua better get ready to literally worship the ground she walks on.

* * *

Killua is walking back from the dojo with his hands in his pockets and earbuds planted firmly in his ears. He chews a piece of gum and occasionally blows bubbles with it to relieve a little boredom. The walk from the dojo to his apartment isn’t too far, but it feels a lot further because he doesn’t have Alluka with him to talk to and relieve his boredom.

He feels bad about ditching her yoga class—terrible, in fact. But he had really thought the class was tomorrow, and wasn’t fully mentally prepared to see Gon again. Especially since he didn’t have anything to wear.

It’s not often that Killua hits it off immediately with someone. In fact, it’s probably never happened. Killua needs some “warming up,” as Alluka likes to call it, and the only person who’s really stuck around long enough to get past that “warming up” stage is Alluka. And maybe the owner of his jujutsu studio, Bisky. Now, the beginning of _their_ relationship had been rocky, to say the least.

But talking with Gon had been easy; Gon’s simple-minded openness had somehow gelled with Killua’s dry honesty. Everything about Gon had caught him off guard. He wonders if the yoga had anything to do with it; Alluka did say yoga can do wonders to your spirit, mind, and body.

His phone buzzes, interrupting his thoughts. He pulls out his phone and sees a text from an unknown number.

_[Hey!! Alluka gave me your number! Meet us tonight at 6:30 at Hunter’s on 99th st!]_

Great, now Alluka was giving his phone number out to strangers. Strangers who use an inappropriate amount of exclamation points. And she’s apparently making plans for him, as well.

 _[Who dis?]_ he shoots back quickly before putting his phone back in his pocket and approaching the entrance to his apartment. He inputs the code and enters the building, making his way up the stairs to their floor.

When he gets inside their apartment, Alluka is doing her makeup at the dining room table. “I’m home,” he says as he takes his shoes off by the door.

“Welcome home, onii-chan!” she calls without looking away from her mirror.

“You’re getting dressed up.” He plops onto the couch and rests his head on the back cushions.

“Yep, we have plans tonight.”

 _“We?_ ” he says, raising his eyebrows. “You must be talking about somebody else. My plan tonight was to eat that leftover curry and play video games till my eyes burn. Who do _you_ have plans with?”

His phone buzzes in his pocket again, so he pulls it out. He has three messages from that same unknown number. When he sees it, he wonders if he’s somehow forgotten how to read or something.

_[It’s Gon!!]_

_[This is Killua right????]_

_[Are you and Alluka still coming???]_

“Well, I guess I’ll have to go hang out with Gon for dinner and drinks by myself, then,” Alluka drones, “since you’ve got such _pressing_ plans tonight.” Killua can just barely hear her over the sea of raging thoughts going on in his brain.

What. _What_.

“What?” he spits out. He sits up and spins around to look at her face—she has to be lying. This has to be a prank. He ignores the logic in his head reminding him that Alluka hates lying.

“Gon invited us to hang out with him and a couple of his friends tonight. He was disappointed he couldn’t see you _in class_ today.”

“What?” he repeats, still not getting it.

Alluka sighs and sets her mirror and brush down, finally making eye contact with him. “Hurry up and get ready, onii-chan. We’ve gotta go meet Gon.”

“You— What— _Why?_ ”

“Because he invited us out. Gosh, onii-chan, I thought you were smart.” She picks her mirror and brush back up and sets back to work.

“Why’d he do that?”

“He wanted to see you, and since he couldn’t see you in class because _you got called into work_ , he invited us out. Duh.”

Killua looks at her incredulously for close to a minute in silence, completely still like stone.

Finally, he gets up off the couch. Slowly. Very deliberately. Then rushes back to his room.

“Holy shit. I gotta get ready.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise, I'll write something real and serious soon...but in the meantime, I'm gonna keep messing around with this AU


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took me a while to get to this, I'm sorry! I had no clue where I wanted to take this chapter honestly, which is evident by the fact that I didn't really take it anywhere...
> 
> Haha anyways hope you all enjoy!!

When Gon arrives at the restaurant, Leorio and Kurapika are already there. They have a table nestled in a corner towards the back of the building and it takes Gon a moment to find them. They sit in the two corner seats, and he is glad to see two other empty seats as he slides into his own, facing them.

“Hey, guys!” Gon chirps with a wide grin on his face.

Kurapika flashes a soft smile as he takes a sip of his drink, while Leorio narrows his eyes and stares Gon down. “Oi, Gon. What’s the big idea? Why’d you make us get two extra seats?”

“I invited a couple of people from my yoga class to come with us tonight.”

“Your yoga class?” Leorio’s expression somehow gets even more sour. “So they’re gonna talk about woo-woo stuff all night? Like chakras and stuff?”

Gon laughs good-naturedly. “No, of course not. At least, I don’t think so. I don’t know them all that well, honestly.”

Leorio slams a hand on the table incredulously. “You _don’t even know them_ , and you invited them out with us tonight?”

“You’ll like them, I promise, Leorio!”

“And how do you know that if you barely even know who they are?”

“I didn’t say that! I mean, I kinda know them.”

“Oh, good. You _kinda_ know them. That’s reassuring.”

“One of them has been coming to my class for a while, and she’s great. Her brother is coming, too. He went to a class last week.”

“She’s great? Well, that’s _great_. I sure hope her and her brother don’t dominate the conversation talking about the healing power of crystals and how we should all be meditating more often or something.”

“They’re not like that! I don’t think.”

Kurapika watches the two of them silently, unable to keep a bemused smile off his face.

“Y’know, Gon…” Leorio takes a sip of his beer, keeping an eye on Gon the whole time. “If I’d known you were interested in dating again, there’s this nurse that just started at the hospital that I would’ve set you up with. She’s pretty hot. Although, she may not be that _great_ like this girl is.”

Gon flushes, a hard glint steeling his eyes. “It’s not like that, Leorio!” he practically shouts over the sound of Leorio and Kurapika’s laughter. “I swear, I’m not interested in her like that.”

“Oh, really? I doubt that.” Leorio clutches his stomach and shakes his head, emanating pure pride at what he takes as hitting the nail on the head.

“Why?” Gon practically whines. “It’s true!”

“Leorio does have a point,” Kurapika interjects, finally speaking up for the first time tonight. “The last time you invited anyone to meet up with us was Retz.”

Gon looks between Kurapika and Leorio, feeling utterly wrecked by both of his friends. “That doesn’t mean this is the same.” He can’t help the pout on his face. “I promise, Alluka is a just a friend. She’s cool, but I’m not interested in her like that.”

Leorio rolls his eyes with a crooked smile while Kurapika raises his eyebrows silently, adorning the same smirk as Leorio.

Thankfully, Leorio and Kurapika get distracted with something behind Gon, both of their gazes drifting over. Curious, Gon also turns to look and see what’s captured their attention, and can’t help the wide beam his face breaks out into.

“Killua! Alluka!”

* * *

To say that Killua feels awkward is an understatement. He and Alluka had a hard time finding Gon and his friends—of which there were only two, thankfully—and almost thought Gon was just pulling a prank of them by inviting them out when he finally spotted that spiky hair and sturdy back that looked vaguely familiar. Alluka, being far too outgoing for Killua’s sanity, dragged him up to the table as soon as they’d spotted Gon.

Gon’s friends had noticed them first, probably fixated on the shock of white hair atop Killua’s head. Most people had that reaction. But then, Gon turned around to face them.

“Killua! Alluka!”

Gon’s grin is contagious, and Killua feels himself loosen up a bit. A bit.

“Hey, Gon,” he says, feigning confidence as much as possible, hands in his pockets.

“I’m so glad you guys could make it! C’mon, sit down.”

Killua moves to take the seat on the right—towards Gon’s blonde friend—so that Alluka can sit next to Gon. He doesn’t want her to have to sit next to the stranger, and her and Gon are friends. However, Killua has barely made a step forward before Alluka is pushing him to the left, towards Gon, and taking a seat next to the blonde guy. Killua’s hands become fists in his pockets as he sits himself down next to Gon.

“These are my friends, Leorio and Kurapika,” Gon says, gesturing to the bespectacled man and then the blonde. “Guys, this is Killua and Alluka.”

Alluka flashes her best, sweetest smile and Killua can’t help the slight throbbing in his heart at the sight. “Nice to meet you!” she chimes.

Killua musters a half-smile as he nods at the two strangers.

“Nice to meet you, too,” the blonde—Kurapika—says with a gentle smile, his voice matching.

The older guy—Leorio—pushes his glasses further up his nose. “You guys are the ones from Gon’s yoga class?”

Alluka nods. “I’ve been going to Gon’s class for…hmm…maybe half a year now? Onii-chan only went last week, but he said he’s going to go to another class. Although, he missed today’s.”

“Oh yeah, how was class today, Killua?” Gon asks. “Alluka says you got called in.” He turns to his friends. “Killua teaches jujutsu. Isn’t that awesome?”

Killua clears his throat and is thankful the restaurant is dark enough that the slight flush on his cheeks is probably not visible. Although, he doesn’t miss the quick glance that Gon’s two friends share with each other. “Class was good. It was another beginner class, so it was kinda just babysitting. But it was fine.”

“Is it mostly kids in the beginner classes, then?” Kurapika asks.

“Yeah, usually. But we have an adults’ beginner class as well that the owner of the studio teaches.”

“Oh, so if I took a beginner’s class there, you wouldn’t be my teacher?” Gon asks.

“No, Bisky would be. She’s amazing though, and a good teacher, so you’d learn a lot from her.” He pauses, replaying those words in his head for a moment. “Don’t ever tell her I said that, though, if you do talk to her.”

Gon laughs, eyes shining bright, and Killua ignores the tightness in the pit of his stomach that twists up at the sight and sound of it. “So how did you guys all meet?” Killua quickly asks, turning to Leorio and Kurapika.

Leorio claps a hand on Gon’s shoulder, his chuckle loud. “Gon came into my hospital one day when I’d just started in the ER because he’d broken a bone trying to do a backflip—”

“Hey, it wasn’t _just_ a backflip!” Gon interjects, pointing a finger in Leorio’s face. “It was a _double_ backflip!”

Leorio brushes his finger aside, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, okay. Whatever. You’re not a gymnast, Mr. Namaste. You broke a bone either way.” Killua’s gaze lingers on Gon’s good-natured pout for a moment longer than he intended. “Anyways, I was the one who initially saw him, and we kinda hit it off. This guy’s got nerves of steel—we were just joking around the whole time and I’d almost forgotten the fact that he had a broken bone and was probably in a ton of pain. And the rest was history.”

“And I met Gon through Leorio,” Kurapika says. “Leorio and I have known each other since we were in college.”

“Oh, yeah. I’m sure you could probably tell, but this guy used to have a huge stick up his ass about everything,” Leorio grumbles, pointing over to Kurapika, who immediately sends a glare Leorio’s way.

“What? No, I didn’t.”

“You used to be so serious, don’t lie! Till we started hanging out with Gon.”

“ _One_ of us had to be serious—you used to go around like a bumbling, loud idiot all the time.”

Leorio’s answering groan makes Alluka laugh. Killua, spurred on by her laughter, can’t stop himself. “Doesn’t seem like _that’s_ changed all that much,” he mumbles, more to himself and Alluka. It’s not like he’s trying to get Gon’s friends to hate him right off the bat.

Leorio shoots him an angry glare, but luckily, Gon and Kurapika don’t even try to hide their laughter. “Not even five minutes in, and this kid’s got you pegged, Leorio,” Kurapika gets out in between laughs.

“Gon, why’d you invite this guy?” Leorio growls under his breath as he crosses his arms, but Killua doesn’t miss the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

“I knew you guys would like him!” Gon’s smile is almost blinding, and Killua looks away.

The waitress comes to take the rest of their drink orders. Killua decides to order a beer to help him loosen up a bit more. He can’t shake the overhang of anxiety that still sits in the back of his mind every time Gon does just about anything.

Talking to Gon’s friends is _fun_ , Killua admits. Leorio is loud and not necessarily the brightest, but he has a good heart. Kurapika seems all gentle and soft until all of a sudden, he comes up with some zingers that never fail to make Killua laugh.

And then there’s Gon. Gon, who he can’t help glancing over at, even when someone else is speaking. Gon, who is already glancing back at him every time he looks over. Gon, whose arm brushes against his every time he goes to grab his drink. Gon, whose laugh echoes in his head till Killua’s wondering if he’s suddenly become a super lightweight and has gotten drunk off of just a single beer.

So he orders another, as do Leorio, Kurapika, and Gon. He’s usually very good at handling his alcohol, his tolerance having always been exceptionally high. So he orders another once he finishes that one. And then another.

They all—except Alluka, who is not yet of age—keep up with Killua, finishing a few rounds before their food even arrives. The restaurant is busy tonight, so it takes a while for the food to come. They all cheer loudly when the food finally does arrive, all of them but Killua clearly venturing out of the “tipsy” zone and into the “drunk” zone. Hopefully the food helps, unless they’re the type of group that just randomly gets sloshed at 7:30 on a weekday.

Towards the end of the night, Leorio and Kurapika start picking at each other’s plates with a closeness that Killua has noticed a few times throughout the night. He hasn’t commented on it, not quite _that_ comfortable with them yet, but finds himself fascinated by it. The two of them have their heads close together while they murmur back and forth to each other about something.

“They’re always like that,” a soft voice breaks through his thoughts.

He turns to look at Gon, whose flushed face is _very_ close. Killua gulps, his throat suddenly dry. “Are they dating?” he asks quietly. He glances over at Leorio and Kurapika but they are still wholly consumed with each other.

“I think so. They’ve never really said.” Gon’s voice is surprisingly quiet for someone who just downed several beers, but Killua notices the glassy look on his eyes and red tinting his cheeks. “But sometimes they do stuff like that and it’s usually pretty awkward for me, because I just have to sit there. Not that I’m not happy for them, but it’s nice having you guys here so I’m not sitting there watching while they do that.”

Killua nods understandingly, pushing his empty plate towards the end of the table for the waitress to pick up. “Yeah, I bet.”

“I’m really glad I invited you guys. This has been great.” Gon’s smile makes Killua turn away, eyes wide.

“Uh—Y-yeah. Me too.”

“Have you had fun tonight with me?”

Killua huffs, crossing his arms. He hopes the sudden bloom of blush on his cheeks could pass as drunkenness. “You’re a pretty embarrassing guy, you know that?”

Gon’s giggle makes Killua’s heart swell. Which he promptly ignores, of course. “Why? I’m just asking an honest question.”

With a sigh, Killua turns back to Gon. “Yeah, it’s been fun.”

Gon’s answering grin is dazzling. “Good. We come here every week or so, as long as we’re all off. You and Alluka can start coming with us!”

“Yeah.” He shrugs. “That wouldn’t be too bad, I guess.”

“Are you gonna be at my class next week?”

Killua clears his throat and scratches at the back of his neck nervously. He’s glad Gon hasn’t asked him too much about his absence at today’s class. “I’ll be there.”

“Great! I can’t wait.” Gon’s voice is not much more than a breath, each word colored by the permanent etched smile on his face. “I really wanna see you again.”

Killua rolls his eyes, hoping his feigned nonchalance hides the absolute cacophony of embarrassment going on in his head. “You’re seeing me now.”

“So?”

Killua brings his hand up to lightly flick Gon on the forehead, unable to help himself. His laugh is more of a cackle when Gon’s voice rings out, “Hey! That’s not fair, I wasn’t paying attention!”

“That’s not my fault!” He reaches up and flicks him again. “That’s what you get for being so shameless.”

“Killua!” Gon whines, placing a hand on his forehead to protect it.

Killua turns away to laugh, but can’t help but glance back at Gon from the corner of his eye. His heart still thuds loudly in his chest, and there’s only one single phrase running through his mind right now.

 _Oh, shit_.

* * *

Alluka watches as her brother and Gon speak in hushed tones, faces close and cheeks red. She looks over at Leorio and Kurapika, laughing to herself at how similar the two pairs look.

Not caring a single bit that they are all too caught up in each other to realize that Alluka is essentially the fifth wheel, she rests her head on her hand softly and continues to watch her brother with a knowing smile on her face.

In her mind, she pats herself on the back when she sees Killua’s pale face stain darker and darker red the longer he and Gon talk. The second they get home, she is going to demand an award or a plaque or something. Officially _Best Sister Ever_.

**Author's Note:**

> There it is, folks. Hope you enjoyed! Namaste...
> 
> This story really tested my ability to think up of other ways to word “a sparkle in your eye.” Alluka and Gon both have lots of sparkles in their eyes, apparently. I can't tell you how many times I googled "synonym for bright" before I just gave up and used the word about thirty times. I probably need to come up with another metaphor...but that would require being original...
> 
> Another disclaimer: I do NOT think that anyone who fishes is inherently a redneck, nor do I have anything against people who fish lol. I just thought it’d be a funny joke and something that might come into Killua's mind if he were in a modern universe. Just wanna put that out there cuz I'd wanna offend anybody with a stupid joke.


End file.
